A/N: This was a basic idea I had one night and decided to make it into a quick story! Enjoy.

"Hey, you." Tony smiled, sneaking up behind Bruce in the lab and wrapping his arms around his waist. They had been in an official relationship for just over six months, and Tony loved every minute of it.

"Hi." Bruce smiled when he heard Tony's voice, the familiar, uncontrollable shiver that went down his spine every time the man touched him. He turned around to face him and put his arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, is this not my house? My lab?" He grinned, putting his forehead to Bruce's, letting their dark eyes meet.

"Our house, our lab." Bruce corrected him, nuzzling at his cheek and leaving a soft kiss.

"Well... It's called Stark Tower, not Banner Tower, so y'know. Everything in here is mine. Including you." He growled playfully, moving his face to Bruce's neck and kissing it delicately.

"Is that so?" He mumbled, his concentration lost as Tony kissed him. Tony just hummed in agreement before kissing his way back up to Bruce's mouth.

"Yes. You're mine." He growled again, before locking his lips on his lover's and kissing him forcefully, nipping at his bottom lip before letting his tongue dance in the Doctor's mouth. It lasted for a few minutes before Bruce finally broke away.

"Not so fast, Tony." He grumbled, giving him a gentle smile and stroking his shoulders before letting go of him and turning back to his computer screen. Tony narrowed his eyes and walked around the opposite side of the workbench to look at Bruce.

"What's wrong? It's only kissing." He asked lightly. Bruce had told him he wanted to take things slow at the beginning of their relationship, and Tony had agreed all too kindly. They had refrained from anything sexual for the whole six months, and although Tony knew Bruce would be worth the wait, the playboy was beginning to wonder how much longer he could actually keep up the celibacy thing.

"I know that, Tony, but I don't want things to get too heated. If my heart rate raised just a few beats too high, you won't have much of a Stark Tower/Banner Tower left." He gave him a meek smile.

"Well... Yeah, I get that but, it's kissing, Bruce. It's not gonna kill you." He frowned.

"It would appear that nothing can kill me, Tony, but I don't want to risk your life." Bruce swallowed slowly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Hey, if I had to pick a way to die, I think in the throes of passion would be a pretty good way to go." He smirked.

"Tony, don't even joke about that. It's not funny." His eyebrows knitted together as he looked at the genius.

"Bruce, what's wrong? Seriously? You're really... cranky."

"Nothing's wrong, I just... I know you want to go further than we've been at the minute and I need more time." He shrugged.

"Look, you said you weren't ready, and that's fine. I respect that. It's worth the wait. But just... I don't actually know what you're waiting for." He said bluntly. Bruce looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"Bruce, this isn't gonna go away. If and when we get to that stage, the Other Guy is gonna be there. It's not like you can wait until we've found a cure before we go any further because we've been searching for ages. It's time to face facts that he's always gonna be around, and there's no way to prevent that." Tony spoke firmly.

"Yeah, I get that, but I at least want to be able to control him a little more before we try anything too serious. I just... He's not ready for this yet. I'm not ready." Tony was losing patience and fast.

"Oh will you cut it out? Stop acting like you're a virgin, and this is your first time, and I'm pressuring you into it. This is something you've done before, many a time. You just have another person involved. You never know, the guy might need a little loving."

"Tony? How can you even say that? You know why this isn't a good idea. I'm not pretending to be a rape victim who's struggling to trust again. I just... I need more time, why can't you accept that?" He shouted.

"I do accept that. I just think it's time you accepted that there is no way out of this. I'll wait for you Bruce, as long as it takes, and you know that. But you're waiting until the Other Guy is gone, and he's never going to go. I trust you, and I know you can handle this. But you don't trust yourself and that's what's causing the problem." He shouted back.

"Tony, the only problem here is you being selfish! You're thinking about yourself and what you need! You will literally do anything to get your leg over, won't you?" He growled. "If you've got pent up sexual frustration, then that's great, you've got two perfectly good hands to sort yourself out with. But I need more time, and if you're not willing to wait, then I know where the door is."

"How can you even say that? You're willing to leave me over this? Just because I want to make love to you? You want to walk out because I'm trying to persuade you to trust yourself?"

"This is your way of persuading me, is it? Telling me how I'm being stupid for letting this control my life?" Bruce snorted.

"When did I ever say those words? Hm? When, at any point in this conversation, did I tell you that you were stupid? You're the smartest person I know Bruce, but you're ruining yourself. I love you, and you know that. I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone or anything. But we're adults. We can't keep going on dates to the movies and holding hands like stupid teenagers. I want to express my love for you in a different way, and I don't see why you're so against it." Tony shrugged at him.

"I've just explained why I'm so against it! If I get even a little bit over-excited, I'll turn into you-know-what and put the entire city in danger. It's not worth it! I'd rather go on a thousand pathetic little dates with you and just hold your hand because believe it or not Tony, that means something to me. It's not about sex with you, it's about love. But I suppose I should have known it wouldn't be long before your 'playboy' side came out." Bruce spat.

"Are you kidding me? Don't patronise me, Banner. I haven't slept with anyone since I got the arc reactor. I don't trust anyone to see me naked when they could potentially rip my heart out of my chest. Do you realise how long it took me to trust again? You're the first person I've even got close to since that. So don't tell me that I'm some filthy whore who relies on sex, because I haven't had any in years."

"Tony... I want to have sex with you. Of course I do. I just need more time. I don't know how often I have to keep repeating myself. At this point in time, doing anything remotely sexual would end up in a smashed up New York, and I really don't think they'd appreciate that. This is why I stay away from big cities in the first place."

"Well it's obvious you don't wanna be in the big city anymore Bruce. Go on, you know where the door is. I'm sure there are some children in Malaysia who need your help." He spat, but the anger fell from his face and was replaced by sadness, regretting the words as soon as he said them. Bruce's face was pained, and it broke the billionaire's heart. Tears pricked at Bruce's eyes, but he shook them away.

"Fine. I'll get out of your hair." He said softly, turning away with a sniff and walking out of the door.

"Bruce... I didn't mean it. Bruce wait!" Tony called after him, but it was too late. He'd already gone. He turned from the door and slumped in his chair, head in hands, fumbling blindly in a cabinet beside him before pulling out a bottle of whiskey he had stashed away. He'd ruined everything, screwed it up through his own selfishness, just like always. "JARVIS, lock the lab door." He grumbled.

"Sir, I do not think drinking is the answer to your prob-"

"JARVIS! Do as you're fucking told." He shouted, taking a swig of the whiskey. There was a pause in the air before the AI answered him glumly.

"Of course, Mr Stark."

A/N: I know, I know. Don't hate me. I'm sorry. Don't worry, this is a two-shot, so there will be another chapter coming to round things off. Please read and review!